U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,597 and International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US00/22992 (WO 01/13974) both disclose heart assist devices that utilise an inflatable balloon that is positioned within an arterial vessel of a patient. The balloons replace a resected portion of the vessel and are cyclically inflated and deflated to expand into the vessel and thus assist in blood displacement during diastole and retract from within the vessel during systole.
Both of the above documents disclose devices that have a relatively rigid shell with an inlet/outlet port which is connected to a fluid pump. The flexible balloon seals around the periphery of the shell and extends back over the shell for some or all of its exterior. Another layer of material is then placed over the balloon exterior, adjacent the shell, to secure the balloon to the shell.
The Applicant's International PCT Patent Application No's. PCT/AU00/00654, PCT/AU01/01187, and PCT/AU02/00974 all disclose actuators that were found to fail due to fatigue in the balloon interfacing with the aorta.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved actuator.